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There has never been a better time in human history to be a beer drinker. With over six thousand craft breweries in America, and nearly 100 in Maine alone, brewers are constantly pushing the boundaries of craft beer. From its humble beginnings as nourishment for the working-class, beer now rivals wine and spirits in sophistication and complexity.

In this talk, beer critic, Dave Patterson, will explain how beer evolved into the booming culture it is today. This presentation will highlight the vast flavor profiles of different beer styles to prove that there is a beer out there for everyone. Over his five years of writing about beer, Patterson argues that in this golden age of beer production, you can no longer say that you don’t like beer.

As a special treat, we’re bringing in Otto’s Pizza to snack on during the talk. We can’t serve beer, but we can serve pizza! A er the talk, join Dave at the Fore River Brewing Company in Portland to continue the beer adventure!

After the talk, Dave is headed to Foreriver Brewery in Portland to show you more about what you learned. Please join him in your own car if you’re interested in continuing the beer adventure!

More about Dave
Dave Patterson is a novelist, musician, and freelance beer writer and critic from Cape Elizabeth. From 2014 to 2018 his weekly Beer Muse column ran in Maine Today Magazine. His musings about beer have also appeared in the Portland Press Herald, the Maine Sunday Telegram, Activity Maine, and Maine Brew Guides.

Aquariums are a beautiful addition to any home. Have you ever wanted to set up an aquarium but weren’t sure how?

Please join us with aquarium expert Mandie Link to learn tips and tricks for setting up and taking care of a fish tank including tips about water quality and fish compatibility.

Mandie Link works for New England Aquarium Services and services the aquarium here at TML. She travels from northern Maine to Massachusetts aquascaping and servicing both fresh and salt water aquariums. Her company works on anything from a one gallon fish bowls to 1100 gallon tanks and everything in between, working with the basics of fish and aquatic plants, to the extremes of corals and invertebrates.

TML’s Evening Book Group meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 7:00-8:30 PM.

Please join us in June to discuss A Good Man With a Dog by Roger Guay. All are welcome!

“When Roger Guay’s father died in a tragic fishing accident, a kind game warden helped him through the loss. Inspired by this experience, as well as his love of the outdoors, Guay became a game warden and certified K9 handler, beginning a successful career that would span twenty-five years and see him establish canine units as a staple of the game warden service.

Guay takes readers into the patient, watchful world of a warden catching poachers and protecting pristine wilderness, and the sometimes CSI-like reconstruction of deer- and moose-poaching scenes. Guay searches for lost hunters and hikers, estimating that over the years, he has pulled more than two hundred bodies out of Maine’s north woods. His frequent companion is a little brown lab named Reba, who can find discarded weapons, ejected shells, hidden fish, and missing people.

A Good Man with a Dog explores Guay’s life as he and his canine partners are exposed to increasingly terrible events, from tracking down hostile poachers to searching for victims of violent crimes, including a year-long search for the hidden graves of two babies buried by a Massachusetts cult. He witnessed firsthand FEMA’s mismanagement of the post-Katrina cleanup efforts in New Orleans, an experience that left him scarred and disheartened. But he found hope with the support of family and friends, and eventually returned to the woods he knew and loved from the days of his youth.”

Our songwriting workshop is a terrific gathering of like-minded writers, along with mentor Jud Caswell, who is here to help you shape your work into something polished and wonderful.

Jud starts each session with a short discussion of some of the elements of songwriting craft, then moves right on to sharing songs. Jud’s feedback is focused on questions or concerns raised by the songwriter, with group discussion focused on issues of craft and technique.

Participants should bring a song that is “in process” for feedback and support, along with 10 copies of lyrics to share. We’ll have a sign-up sheet when you get here and will have time each night to share 6 or 7 songs. Come a little early if you want to make sure to get on the list!

The goal of the workshop is to provide a safe place for songwriters to grow their ability. Songwriters of all levels and abilities are welcome! This class is a lot of fun. We hope you’ll join us in June.

Anthony Allen and Mike Keon opened the first OTTO pizza shop on Congress Street in Portland in the 2009 just as the US economy hit bottom. Defying conventional wisdom, their risk paid off, as Portland-area foodies instantly fell in love with OTTO’s unique approach to pizza. In just 9 years, OTTO has gained national acclaim for its inventive, culinary-inspired pies, and has grown to 13 locations throughout Maine and Massachusetts, with over 400 employees. OTTO’s path to fast growth was not without obstacles, and Anthony and Mike continue to work on strengthening the company’s foundation, improving their business systems, and staying relevant in increasingly competitive markets.

Join us as OTTO co-founder Anthony Allen shares the story of OTTO’s humble beginnings, the role that risk (and stubbornness) played in his company’s success, the power of teamwork, and the importance of giving back.

More about our speaker:A native of Nantucket, Mass., Anthony Allen founded his first pizzeria there at age 17 and later expanded with a second location on Martha’s Vineyard. His other early pizza adventures included bringing pizza to Tanzania by turning a 55-gallon oil drum into an oven and teaching the locals how to stretch dough and make a pie. He teamed up with Portland resident Mike Keon in 2009 to start OTTO, a partnership that combined Anthony’s decades of pizza experience with Mike’s skills developing creative recipes. OTTO now has 13 locations in Maine and Massachusetts.